Ornellaia 2014 “L’Essenza”

The Brazilian artist Ernesto Neto has been chosen to interpret the character ‘L’Essenza’ (The Essence) of the Ornellaia 2014 vintage. For the ninth edition of the project Vendemmia d’Artista he has created a work of art for the estate, customized a limited series of bottles in large format, and designed a label that, expressing the vintage character, will be inserted
in each Ornellaia case containing 6 bottles of 750ml.

Artist Ernesto Neto

Born in 1964 in Rio de Janeiro, the artist continues to live and work in Brazil. He studied at the city’s Escola de artes visuais do Parque Lage in 1994 and in 1997, attending in the meanwhile the Sao Paulo Museum of Modern Art.. Known for his handcrafted sculptural installations of crochet, tulle, spices and stones, Neto’s renowned art-making practice draws from a wide variety of sources, from Modernist traditions of biomorphic abstraction, through Arte Povera and American Minimalism, to the legacies of Brazilian neo concrete. Neto has fused seemingly disparate influences into a cohesive and harmonious language.

Inspiration

Central to the current presentation is Neto’s exploration of shamanism as science, the natural world and its phenomena, and community based crafts. In 2014, Neto and members of the Huni Kuin embarked on a series of artistic exchanges that investigate the rituals and shamanistic traditions. The Huni Kuin’s spiritual life, their desire for healing in harmony with nature, and the wisdom and serenity they draw from their deep connection with the energy of the planet, introduced into Neto’s work a new awareness about nature strenght and its dynamics. Drawing inspiration from these traditions, medicines and customs, his new body of work speaks of internal transformation, and adds layers of meaning to his inquiry into connectivity as a social and ecological concern.

Special Labels

Expecially for Vendemmia d’Artista Ernesto Neto decided to marry this project with the intent to communicate the natural balance in our modern societies through the intersection of these coat’s links with whom he covered the bottles. An organisation based on one King, ten Lords and the people, represents the balance that has to be found at the heart of each community: the hierarchy in fact, is essential for living in harmony as a group and in unison with mother nature. As with every edition, the artist has created a collection of large formats (100 Double Magnums (3L.), 8 Imperials (6L.) and a unique Salmanazar (9L.) as well as the single bottle label to be found in every standard case of Ornellaia 2014.